Two men have been arrested over the assassination of Sydney organised crime figure Lorenzo Laemalu gunned down outside a restaurant in Vietnam.
Laemalu, a senior member of the so-called Coconut Cartel, was targeted in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday night amid an ongoing feud between his gang and the notorious Alameddine crime family. The 24-year-old was shot several times, along with an associate who Vietnamese authorities said was injured in the shooting.
Gangland police are investigating whether the shooting of Laemalu, whose surname is also spelled Lemalu, is linked to the cartel’s months-long feud with the Alameddine network, which has been the target of sustained attacks from the emerging gang other rival groups vying for control of Sydney’s underworld. Detectives are exploring the possibility that Laemalu’s death is linked to the cartel’s activities abroad.
The shooting sparked a manhunt for two Australian men, according to local media. Vietnamese police said the pair had fled Ho Chi Minh City in a taxi headed towards Cambodia.
It is unclear if they were the two suspects arrested on Monday. Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security said the men in custody were being questioned as investigations into the shooting continued.
CCTV footage circulated on social media in the days after the shooting showed a gunmen approach Laemalu and a group of men standing outside a restaurant before firing several shots at close range and fleeing on foot. Footage from inside the restaurant showed Laemalu lying bloodied on the floor as paramedics treat the 24-year-old.
Messages received by SCN Worldstar and purportedly sent by members of the Alameddine network on Friday suggested they had claimed credit for the killing.
Laemalu is a former ally of rapper Ay Huncho, whose legal name is Ali Younes. Younes is alleged to be a senior member of the Alameddine network and is a cousin of the family’s fugitive patriarch, Rafat Alameddine.
Younes on Friday released a new track, Test My Gangster, which appeared to be a reference to Laemalu’s death. Younes, who recently left NSW after several foiled attempts on his life, is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Laemalu was previously linked to street gang Proper 60, a Merrylands-based group associated with the Alameddine crime family, and had the group’s name tattooed across his stomach. Police believe he was among several senior Coconut Cartel members who have fled Australia and have been directing the group’s activities from South-East Asia.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been contacted for comment. The Australian Federal Police declined to comment on the investigation into the shooting and Monday’s arrests.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
